Firefighters are on scene in the aftermath of an early morning fire...

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The state Department of Environmental Protection and Shelton Fire are on scene in the aftermath of an early morning fire at the Latex International factory at 510 River Road in Shelton, Conn. on Thursday, June 26, 2014.

"We haven't even gone in yet to investigate," said Tortora. "Hopefully, we'll get in Friday."

For now crews are pumping as much as 300,000 gallons of water into collection tanks.

The fire comes less than a month after the company, which bills itself as the "world's leading manufacturer of latex mattresses and pillows" filed for reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The company is seeking protection from $29 million in debt, which includes $2.5 million owed the state Department of Economic and Community Development as it struggles to recover from the embezzlement of $3.5 million by two now-former executives.

"This makes things a little more complicated," said DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith. "I'll never say never, and we certainly have helped them in the past."

"There are a lot of moving parts here," Perillo said, referring to the bankruptcy filing and the money owed. "It's not as easy as it would be for a company just suffering a fire."

Potential hazards

Meanwhile, Mayor Mark Lauretti said he has been told much of the damage is to machinery, rather than the building's steel-and-concrete structure.

"Machinery can be replaced," he said. "I'm willing to help if Latex needs it, but we need a little more time to evaluate everything before making a final judgment ... We need to give the company time to assess the situation."

This fire broke out in a basement industrial dryer and quickly spread into the ventilation system and duct work before bursting through the roof shortly before 1 a.m.

"We had about 150 firefighters on the scene battling the fire," said Assistant Fire Chief Nick Verdicchio. "We immediately called for mutual aid."

Volunteers from Derby were the first to arrive, followed by Ansonia, Orange, Trumbull and Stratford firefighters. Monroe and Seymour provided coverage for any other calls in Shelton.

One firefighter suffered a broken arm battling the blaze, while three others suffered heat exhaustion.

"It was hot and smoky inside," Verdicchio said. "Visibility was almost non-existent. Then we had to deal with the humidity outside."

Flaming debris falling from the roof forced firefighters to evacuate the interior at one point.

"We had it out by 4 a.m., but we were continuing to chase hot spots mostly in the duct work," Verdicchio said. "We will continue to have a standby crew on the scene for the next day or so just in case it continues to flare up."

"We set up booms in the (nearby) Housatonic River to contain any water flowing from the plant, just in case it contained hazardous waste," said Dwayne Gardner, a DEEP spokesman. "That doesn't appear to be the case."

Prior disasters

Thursday's fire is another in a series of setbacks that have plagued the company.

Latex Foam arose from the ashes of the March 1, 1975, arson that destroyed the Sponge Rubber Products Co. in downtown Shelton, throwing 4,000 people out of work and devastating the Housatonic Valley's economy.

It led to the largest arson investigation in U.S. history and the conviction of eight people. It also led to the creation of Latex Foam. In 1985, the company moved to a former Farrell Corp. site in downtown Ansonia.

But disaster struck again on May 14, 2001, when fire broke out on a conveyor belt in a huge drying oven. Wind fanned the flames, which burned for nearly five days, destroying the 10-acre, 284,000-square-foot factory, costing 250 people their jobs and leaving Ansonia with a huge hole in its tax base.

The following year, Latex moved into the current 208,000-square-foot site on 510 River Road.

But its troubles continued.

In 2012, Kevin Coleman, then the company's chief executive officer, and Joanne Osmolik, its vice president for human resources, pleaded guilty to embezzling at least $3.5 million.

Coleman, 54, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and ordered to repay about $1.8 million to the company and $1.4 million in taxes. He is serving his time in Duluth, Minn., with an Oct. 8, 2017, expected release.

But Coleman was hired despite having been caught stealing $14,000 from another company. He was never charged criminally in that case because he made restitution.

Osmolik, a 54-year old Newtown resident, was sentenced to four years in federal prison and ordered to repay nearly $1.8 million. She is serving her sentence at the federal correctional institution in Marianna, Fla., and has an Oct. 18, 2015, release date.

Their actions led to 43 employees losing their job and the closing of their factory in England. It also kept the company struggling financially. On May 30, it filed a series of petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking reorganization.

David Fisher, current president and CEO, then said the filing and "a new infusion of capital will strengthen our current business and position the company for dynamic future growth."